2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
- Meet site
- Competition Schedule
- FinaTV Live Stream
- Entry Lists
- Start Lists
- Results
Katinka Hosszu may have a grueling schedule ahead of her this week in Gwangju, but the “Iron Lady” didn’t look to be holding back this morning, as she dropped a 2:07.02 in the prelims of the 200 IM.
That swim was notable for a few different reasons. First, she had the fastest breaststroke split in the field by almost a second (36.14), out splitting a group that included some pretty strong breaststrokers like Ye Shiwen, Sydney Pickrem, and Melanie Margalis.
Second, Hosszu touched the wall well over two seconds faster than any other swimmer, and she looked like she was in cruise control the whole time. That would seem to indicate that any other swimmer is going to face a stiff challenge if they’re going to prevent Hosszu from claiming her 4th-straight title in the event.
Finally, Hosszu’s performance this morning was the 7th-fastest ever and she owns five of the top seven times ever. Siobhan O’Connor (2:06.88) and Ariana Kukors (2:06.15) are the only other two women in the top seven, while Hosszu holds the world record at 2:06.00.
For reference, here’s how Hosszu’s splits from this morning compare to her world record record swim from 2015 Worlds and and her gold medal swim at 2017 Worlds.
| Fly | Back | Breast | Free | Total | |
| Kazan 2015 | 27.3 | 31.64 | 36.7 | 30.48 | 2:06.12 |
| Budapest 2017 | 27.07 | 31.99 | 37.33 | 30.61 | 2:07.00 |
| Gwanju 2019 | 27.67 | 32.98 | 36.14 | 30.23 | 2:07.02 |
Dat backhalf doe!
Katinka looking formidable. Notably: Ye Shi Wen overtaking Hosszu during backstroke leg, but then a very strong breastroke leg by the Iron Lady. Maybe Ye might snag a medal… im predicting Katinka to get close to her WR.
That’s a dangerous back half right there, and we all know how strong she can be at fly and especially back where she has lots of time available to knock off. Will be interesting to see if she can break her WR, honestly didn’t expect it to happen but after that it looks like there’s a chance. Would be incredible to see a 2:05.